Owners & tenants at Strata SE1 sign up to residents' portal
80% of owners and 70% of tenants at central London’s landmark Strata SE1 development have signed up to use an innovative residents’ portal and are using it on average five times a month, suggesting a growing appetite for interactive resident websites.
Inhabit, Strata SE1’s bespoke communications and management system, features a wide range of residential tools and functions and is just one example of the type of interactive portals that are being jointly developed by experts SAY and Locale in response to increasing demand from developers and resident groups.
These specialised portals, individually built to meet the requirements of a specific development, are designed to make the lives of tenants and owners easier and help improve the efficiency of the building management. In January, a notoriously quiet month, Strata SE1’s Inhabit received more than 1,675 visits, which equates to over 5 visits per user.
For the past five years, Locale has specialised in developing closed community websites for both commercial and residential properties and recently joined forces with property management experts SAY to facilitate the consultation and implementation processes.
Locale’s founder and director, Guy Windsor-Lewis, says: “In an age when everyone seems to be permanently online, whether it be through their work PC, laptop or smart phone, it’s not surprising that digital communication platforms are playing an increasingly important role within a community.
“This phenomenon can be seen through the massive expansion of communication and social networking platforms and property managers are keen to respond to this by not only making information available online, but also establishing two-way communications with residents and owners. Our portals do just this and, as we have seen at Strata SE1, allow developers to offer a variety of tools to highly targeted users to help make their everyday live easier and more enjoyable.”
Although there have been other, rather basic websites developed for residential schemes, Locale’s portals are unique in that they are been designed to assist communications between all parties, from owners and tenants through to the estates manager, concierge and developer. They also allow large amounts of information on each individual property to be stored in a safe environment where it can be located and accessed at any time.
The features available through the portals will vary from site to site, but Strata SE1’s Inhabit includes:
• Announcements – informs residents via email and SMS of the latest news affecting the building such as lift maintenance, residents meetings, maintenance and window-cleaning
• Events - upcoming events for the development and surrounding area
• Online concierge – enables residents to book and pay for cleaning, dry cleaning and handyman services, as well as make bespoke requests
• Deliveries – residents can alert the reception if they are expecting a delivery
• Resource library – a variety of block and apartment-specific documentation is made available online. This includes everything from residents’ handbooks, appliance manuals, rules & regulations, health & safety records, plans and leases
• Live information - the latest local news, travel, weather and sport is continually updated to help keep residents informed
• Offers and Promotions – offers and promotions from local and national businesses, negotiated by Locale on behalf of residents
• Moving In/Out – A checklist and introduction to the property for residents moving in or out of a property, including a comprehensive Home User Guide for each apartment
Debra Yudolph, founder of SAY and former Director of Asset Management at Grainger plc, commented, “The portals that we create have numerous benefits for both sides: they give residents a sense of belonging to a community and the feeling that they are ‘in the loop’ over the building’s management; while the developer and property managers are given an extremely efficient way of communicating with the residents and vice versa.”
Sitting in the heart and leading the £1.5 billion regeneration area of Elephant and Castle area, at 43 storeys high, Strata SE1 is the tallest residential building in central London. Developed by Brookfield, Strata SE1 sets the new benchmark for sustainable high rise urban living comprising 408 high quality mixed tenure apartments across two architecturally distinguished buildings, both with space for shops and restaurants below.
Justin Black, Director of Brookfield comments “Strata SE1 is a forward thinking residential development. We aim to be leading on all issues that matter to our customers and the future communities of the re-invigorated Elephant & Castle. Our unique approach to sustainability and design is giving our residents and tenants an unrivalled experience of London life. Residents’ services play a key part in the overall attractiveness of Strata SE1 and for us, it was imperative that the services offered wholly reflected the needs of our customers, supported Strata SE1’s iconic brand and could be delivered both efficiently and cost effectively. By working closely with SAY and Locale, we have achieved this and can now boast that Strata SE1’s occupants are benefitting from the country’s most innovative and comprehensive development extranet.”
